I have a 10 year old son who is starting to see the effects of my wife's Alzheimer's, and it is very sad for him (and me to see him having to deal with this). He came to me crying yesterday saying, "I hate Alzheimer's, I hate it!" My wife called one of his friends the wrong name (and we have known them for the past 5 years). My son was embarrassed and upset. He thinks that his friends are laughing at him because of this. He didn't want to walk with his mom from the bus back home after this happened. I spoke with him about it and said that mom doesn't do it on purpose, and doesn't mean to embarrass you, she doesn't even know she is doing it. It's hard to go through this with him, as he shouldn't have to deal with it.
However, it's our reality, so I just told him that we cannot alienate mom and need to just love on her more. I also said that we need to stand up for her if anyone says anything that is not nice. We have to be flexible and understand that these things may happen from time to time. It just breaks my heart knowing this disease gets worse over time. We can't have important discussions anymore, and it's hard to talk about the future. I am also 52 and a First grade teacher. My wife is no longer working, so things are tight. I am on all day with First graders, and then back on when I get home to get dinner and whatever else needs to be handled. This is difficult. Thanks for listening.
However, it's our reality, so I just told him that we cannot alienate mom and need to just love on her more. I also said that we need to stand up for her if anyone says anything that is not nice. We have to be flexible and understand that these things may happen from time to time. It just breaks my heart knowing this disease gets worse over time. We can't have important discussions anymore, and it's hard to talk about the future. I am also 52 and a First grade teacher. My wife is no longer working, so things are tight. I am on all day with First graders, and then back on when I get home to get dinner and whatever else needs to be handled. This is difficult. Thanks for listening.